Home Sweet Home

All that worry for nothing. Left Allentown around 9 am and was in my apartment around 11:30. The New Jersey Turnpike was totally dry, not even snow on the side of the road. Very little traffic, George Washington Bridge was dry, as was the FDR Drive. Zoomed into town, and really only encountered snow once I was in the city. And then, really only on the sidestreets.

My two worries -- well, beyond the big worry of impassable streets was that I would run out of windshield washer fluid and I ended up using none yesterday or today -- I really thought it would be sloppy, sloshy and it was not at all -- so that was one worry -- my other was that I'd not be able to get a cab home from the rental car place and that if I tried to walk I'd be lugging my suitcase over snowbanks or something. Well, the sidewalks were clear and it took me 15 seconds to get a cab.

The only adjustment I had to make was for the cab to let me off down the block a bit from my apartment since I couldn't climb over the curb/snow and so I had him drop me in front of a parking garage where, of course, the driveway was clear.

When I came inside, I headed straight for the bathroom and sat there happy to be home, happy to be inside, happy to have not much to do, happy to be warm, happy to come home to a clean apartment where Ana even took my dirty sheets with her since she works in a laundromat as well as my sheets are nowhere to be seen... so then I yelled out spontaneously "Yippie I-O-Kay-Ay" or however that's spelled. Glad to be home.

And here are some photos:

This is the Red Roof Inn in Allentown. Nice room, cheap, clean, friendly. It was also really cold. Twelve degrees this morning, but sunny. There's something delightful about really cold air and the warm sun.

This my car, the parking lot, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... oh wait, yes I know these are fascinating photos. It was a beautiful, cold morning in Allentown.

The hotel parking lot adjoins this shopping center which was totally dry, totally clear except for these mountains of snow. Whoever plowed this shopping center parking lot did an amazing job.

There's a drive-thru Dunkin Donuts in this parking lot, and I swear the stupidest staff in the world work there. I've used it a half dozen times and every time it's an ordeal.  I don't think they speak English well enough to understand what you're ordering. I ordered a hot chocolate (I was avoiding coffee in the hopes I wouldn't have to stop to use the restroom) and it took 4 or 5 back and forths for her to get that... "Yes, a medium hot chocolate."  You want a hot chocolate? "yes" What size? "medium/." You want a medium hot chocolate. "Yes"  So it's a medium hot chocolate. "Yes" -- Then I ordered four doughnuts -- two to eat on the way and two to save. But then I decided I didn't want to save the two, so when I stopped for gas  (to top it off for the rental car place), it's full-service only on the NJ Turnpike. I had to return it on 3/4ths and I was determined to not give Dollar Rental Car an ounce more gas. So the young guy worked with me as we estimated how much gas so that when I got to NYC (about 30 mins) it would be at 3/4ths.  I gave him my two doughnuts which made him happy. Back at Dunkin', they had put the four doughnuts in a box, and I said "I don't want a box, put them in a bag" and so the guy put the box inside a bag and handed it to me. I know, not s huge problem, but annoying. Oh, the point of this was the tip jar, which was out of reach if you were in your car, which I was... so I don't think they get too much return for their "exceptional service."

This is a car right in front of my building, and you can see that the sidewalk and the street are relatively clear.

Whoops, somehow this got out of order and I'm too lazy to fix it. This is the NJ Turnpike and you can see how clear and dry the road is.

Here's my street where the garbage is piling up. At least it won't smell in the cold as it does in the summer.